


Beneficence

by ArtemisRae



Series: 31 Days Drabbles [49]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Backstory, Canon - Manga, Community: 31_days, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-04
Updated: 2009-03-04
Packaged: 2017-10-07 08:57:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisRae/pseuds/ArtemisRae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winry struggles along with Ed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beneficence

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Livejournal community 31_days, with the theme: You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. Set during Ed's automail surgeries.

* * *

To Winry's immense surprise, she gets through Ed's surgery just fine. She'd been worried because she'd never assisted in surgery on someone so close to her (Granny had been entirely responsible for Den's) and Ed's so young to be going through with it. Granny puts on a brave face for her, and once Winry schools her expression to match that of her grandmother's her focus sharpens and she finds that it turns into another routine procedure.

In her relief to be through the first terrible trial, she finds herself utterly unprepared for Ed's rehabilitation.

Bossing Ed around comes naturally, so she has no problems bullying him into ("Elementary! Routine!" she insists) exercises when he's still sore and trembling from the surgery.

When he complains, however, is when Winry has to check herself. Her gut reaction is to be contrary, to put Ed in his place, but then the engineer inside of her starts shouting and Winry remembers to start going through the check list – scar tissue buildup around the seams? Port displacement in the bone? Nerve graft coming loose? These are all common, expected side effects from the initial surgical procedure, but none of them account for Winry's discomfort.

He's not the first patient Winry's ever had to take care of, but it's the first real time Winry's had to be patient _with_ him. For the first time in their entire childhood Ed listens to her and relies on her, even if he grits his teeth every time he takes one of her suggestions and actually uses it. Winry finds that she much preferred when the two of them could butt heads as equals.

Though it gets easier as Ed gets stronger and more mobile, she reaches her epiphany the day Ed finally attempts alchemy again. She's only ever seen Ed attempt constructive things with his alchemy – toys for her and Al, presents for his mother and Granny, even assisting neighbors who need the help rebuilding a shed – and her blood runs cold when Ed claps his hands and a sword emerges where his arm should be.

_What_, she can't help thinking, _is Ed going to need a sword for?_ She knows Ed and Al are planning on leaving to restore themselves, but she has no idea what they're anticipating. _What has she helped them prepare for?_

Winry moves automatically; she sweeps the chair into her arms, hits Ed, and orders him to fix the automail. All of this happens in less than half a minute before she's storming back into the house, already calculating the structural damage Ed's going to do to his arm if he keeps this newest discovery up.

At least, she can't help thinking as she eyes her neat line of tools (her _arsenal_), it feels like her and Ed are equals again.

* * *


End file.
